The word "Globalization" has a number of meanings. The one that we have been using on this web site is very narrow in scope-namely the design and development of Information Technology products so that they can support users in different languages and locales. Globalization of information technology is required as a result of globalization in its broader form- the integration of the global economy and the increasingly free flow of ideas, people, products, services, and jobs.
In this broader form, many people think of Globalization as going in only one direction: the developed countries use the relatively cheaper labor in the developing countries to produce goods that are consumed by the people of the developed countries. But that simple-minded model is not sustainable. Globalization will eventually improve the standards of living in the developing countries, and domestically developed services and products (not those designed by the developing countries) will advance to become competitive in the developed markets. The best known example is Japan which went from a producer of cheap goods to become a dominant player in electronics, cameras, automobiles, and other segments. Korea and Taiwan have followed similar paths, and now China and India are emerging as major players.
When creating products and services for the developed countries, enterprises in the developing countries face a challenge not unlike that of faced by enterprises in the more developed countries trying to market their products overseas. They not only need to create products and services that are suitable to the target markets, they also need to provide user interfaces, user guides, samples, marketing materials, etc in the local languages. Since the English-speaking countries remain the world’s largest economic bloc, having products work well in the English-speaking markets is very important to many companies in the developing countries. These markets tend to very highly competitive, with companies from many countries vying for the same set of customers, so having clearly written information can be a competitive advantage or even a deciding factor in a sale.
Much have been written about starting with an English product and making it available worldwide- and a great deal can be found on this website, but far less information is available on how to start from a non-English product and make it work in English. This article will focus on some of the issues to consider when "localizing" a product into English. Like most articles in this website, the focus will be on information technology products, though many of the principles can apply to other products as well.
With information technology products, the principles of globalization - having single executable, separation of the texts from the source code, locale independence, etc -apply equally to any products that originate in one language and then have to be translated into others. So the focus here will be on the idiosyncrasies that make translation into English some time even more difficult than translation from English.
A common retort from programmers asked to invest in creating a global product is "Everybody speaks English". When a company tries to bring a local product into the English speaking markets, they face the same issue - though in a rather ironic manner. English is the most widely spoken language in the world. In every country in the world there are many people who can communicate in English, and some of them are asked to translate product and marketing information into English. But just because someone can speak passable English does not mean that the person can translate a document into something that conveys all the necessary information and is easy to understand. Poorly translated information often ends up being ridiculed by late night talk shows in the U.S. - not exactly how a company would want its product represented. Some of the more egregious mangling of the language can be found in books such as the Anguished English series by Robert Lederer. Also, these markets tend to be highly competitive and poorly translated information may mean the difference between success and failure. |
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